Four New Amendments to Dutch Remote Gaming Bill
Tomorrow night, starting at 7 pm, the plenary debate in the Lower house on the Dutch remote gaming bill will finally commence.
Yesterday, four new amendments to the bill were proposed. MP Mei Li Vos (PvdA) submitted two: one ensuring that all gambling-related advertising would contain a clearly visible warning regarding the risks of excessive gambling, while the other would allocate funds to finance a national problem-gambling helpline and web portal.
The other two amendments were proposed by Madeleine van Toorenburg of Christian Democratic opposition group CDA, whose votes could potentially be needed to help pass the bill in the Senate.
Van Toorenburg's first amendment would give the Netherlands Gaming Authority the ability to regulate and prohibit the offering of apps, extensions, or plug-ins that would allow consumers to participate in games of chance offered by unlicensed operators.
It is Van Toorenburg's second amendment, however, prohibiting operators that sponsor clubs, teams, or individual athletes from offering bets on the performance of these teams or athletes, which could have far more serious consequences.
While Van Toorenburg claims that this amendment would “protect” sports, both the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and the Netherlands' overall coordinating sports association NOC*NSF strongly oppose this proposed measure, as it would make it all but impossible for betting operators to sponsor Dutch sports.
In fact, KNVB and NOC*NSF, together with the Netherlands' two top football leagues, would rather that operators who sponsor Dutch sports abide by a newly released sponsoring code. Speel Verantwoord, the Dutch trade association of online operators, already promised that its members would indeed sign this pact.
Also of note: Van Toorenburg was unable to name a single instance in which a licensed operator, rather than a player, was proven guilty, or even suspected of matchfixing.
What to Expect at Tomorrow's Debate?
Tomorrow, Gaming in Holland, in cooperation with respected trade publication GamblingCompliance, will outline some background to the Dutch remote gaming bill and what to watch for in tomorrow night's debate.
Stay tuned!
Naturally, we will report further after tomorrow's debate has concluded, including on the remainder of the legislative process.
State Secretary Dijkhoff: “Local Authorities to Determine Casino Opening Hours”
In response to questions submitted by MP's Gert-Jan Segers (CU) and Madeleine van Toorenburg (CDA) regarding the plans of Holland Casino to extend the opening hours of its Rotterdam branch to 24/7, State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff of Security and Justice responded that local casino opening hours are an exclusive concern of municipal, rather than national authorities.
Permanent Committee for Finance Discusses Sale of Holland Casino
The Permanent Committee for Finance of the Dutch Lower House recently discussed the proposed privatization and sale of Holland Casino with State Secretary of Finance Eric Wiebes.
A report of this discussion is now available online. Although many questions were raised, concrete answers are, at this point, still few and far between.
Those interested in this topic would thus be better off revisiting the presentations by Erwin van Lambaart, CEO of Holland Casino, and Ron Goudsmit, Honorary President of the European Casino Association, which they gave during this year's Gaming in Holland Conference, earlier this month.
Netherlands Gaming Authority to Start Public Consultation on Charity Lottery Licensing Procedure
Starting June 28, the Netherlands Gaming Authority will open a public consultation on the procedure for obtaining a charity lottery license.
The consultation concerns the application process for licenses that will be part of the new lottery regime commencing January 1, 2017.
WGES Regulatory Briefing to Discuss Harmonization across Europe
The next World Gaming Executive Summit's Regulatory Briefing Day, which will take place on July 5, will discuss, among other things, harmonization prospects and challenges across Europe.
Are we getting progressively closer to a coherent European policy? To what extent will operators be faced with 26 different European licenses?
Considering the upcoming regulation of remote gaming in the Netherlands, this discussion could be especially relevant to a Dutch audience.
Also of note, Mr Harrie Temmink, Dep Head of Unit, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission, will provide an overview of regulatory developments in Europe.
Gaming in Holland is proud to be a media partner of this event.
Betsson Expects the Swedish and Norwegian Online Markets to Open in 2018 and 2019
For both markets, Betsson predicts tax rates of 20%, while a 15% rate, as in the UK, would be "optimal" for player channeling purposes.
Other News
The Netherlands Gaming Authority issued a cease and desist order to a Dutch call center which had been recruiting new customers in the Netherlands for a German lottery.
UK bookmaker William Hill has appointed KPMG to review its digital business in the wake of a drop in revenue during the opening period of the year.
Global online poker revenue is expected to continue its decline, yet at a slower pace.
Broadcasters Sky and ITV are set to launch a 24-hour UK eSports channel.
NYX Gaming Group has won a Romanian gambling license, while BetConstruct has been granted a Combined Remote Operating license by the UK Gambling Commission.
The New York Assembly has voted to approve daily fantasy sports in the US state.
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